Irrigation ditch forming machine



Jan. T7', 1950 Y* 10N 2,494,820

IRRIGATION DITCH FORMING MACHNE' Filed Oct. 6, 1947 wir IKIHIIIIHIHIH Gttorueg Patented Jan. 17% 1950 a :UNITED STATES PAT ENT GFFIICE IRRIGATIONBITCH FORMINGMACHINE Yervant Lion, Fresno,` CaliL Application October 6, 19479, Seal No. '178,163`

6,Claims. (Cl. 97-55) This invention relates to aimachine for digging ditches and deals more iiarticizil'ariy` with a machine that: willl forni anv irrigation` ditch between the rows oftrees` of an orchard;

Conventional ditchesrof the character indicated are straight andlruniofiithevwaterf therein tooi'iast for the ground: toi obtaindesired soaking Erequently, labyrinthinei or" circuitous ditches are dug` with al commensuratelyf great expenditure: of time and effort for obtaining-` a betten spread` of Water by slowing the now thereof.-

Tiiepresentinvention halsrorr itsprimarit` obi ect to provide-amaohinewhichibya singlelpass along the ground; will dig-am irrigation ditch of serpentinel form; providing for an` efficient. spread and retardation of iiow` of water therein.

Another object of the invention is to prov-ide a tractor-drawn machine` that wills dig` a ditch that has the form` of"M s; Greek. trotz-andi is; therefore, circuitous or. serpentine;

More specifically; thea invention hasfforar iurther obj ect to provide a ditchf diggerthat forms at least three spaced longitudinali' furrows and,` si`- multaneously; scoops out the earth between. the middle furrow' and thef fla'nliiini;` furrows along alternate longitiidinally-l` spaced points, the latter comprisingalternatelyf spaced cross-ichanrrelsfthat givetheditch the desiredtserpentine form;

My inventionalso `I'iasfor Aitsobieots toiprov-ide such means that areA positiveEl in` operation, con venient iniuse; easily insi'falledin` ai working` posik tion and' easily disconnectedftherefronr, economi; cal i of manufacture, relatively" simple, and` or: gen"- eral superiority andi?senvlceability;`

The invention also` comprises novel details. of construction and novel combinations and" arrangements ofipartalwhichiwiil morefifully appear inthe course off tl'iel` following descrirition"lI How;- ever,` the drawingsnnerely` show`` and:` the: following descriptiontmerely descrilz'esf` one embodiment` oi' the present ininentioni,w which; is given by Ways of illustrationoreexampidonly;

In the drawings; like-:- reference characters designate similari parts lin` the severalz views.

Fig. iis a plan viewzoratditchidiggerrembodys ing featuresxof the; invention;

Fis. 2" is a side e1evationaizifviewthereor` Eig; I. 3 I is a ereaily-` reduced plan viewzf indicating the` character or theiditch thatisrrormedlby the machine;

Figa iJ and 5iaresomewhat-.1enlargerll` cross+seci tional z views i taken'. om thea respectiveil lines` Ile-4 andxiw offFi'gi 32 I Theditchildiggerf. thatisdiiustratedimtheidrawina conriprisea` scnerllw ai. trame Il that` is'" mounted to move along the ground on wheels B, transversely spaced furrow formingl means 1 carried by the frame 5 at the rear thereof to` form spaced longitudinall furrows as the machine is moved i along` the ground, means 8 for digging or snooping out` the earth between the furrows` to form cross-channel connectionstherebetween, and means: 91; connected to be driven by wheels Ii` for operating" the means 8 nza manner` whereby the cross: channels aref formed inA alternate pairs on either sideof the central.` furrow.

The frame 5 oomprisesiside members l I0 bentat I.I`1towardeachothertojoin in a portion I2 that is` adapted to: be"` connected tofau` hitch for towing of the frame by a tractor or the like. A cross member I3` connects side members: III and has a-:idxedltheretm midway between said side mem'- bers;. a: rearwardlyextending,` member I4. The latter; andthe rear portions ofi the side members I0 are: eachsimilarly` downwardly curved i as at I5 fonmounting the means` 1; Approximately` midwayoflsaid curved` ends I5Nand the portion I2, the frame, at each side, his' provided with a bracket plate I Ii` that mountsiwheels;

rIihefwheels 6": are aiiixedzto' ai transverse axle I1 andthe latteru has" bearing;A at its ends, ini the bracketiplatesi I 6w aridlitl` will beiV evident that when drawingxtheframe; as byf a tractor, the'wiheels'z will turni toimpart rotation to the axle I1.

The means; I5.` comprises a'. generally' symmetrical plowshare` I8`1 mounted?` on the.` lowerf endl of eachacurvedipa'rt I5` of the. frame. EalchlplowL sharefisfformed:withal point IEi that first cuts the soil` and" with: outwardly` and. upwardly: directed moldboardsa 2m that mold:` the soil removed from the"` furrowsyzi, dug( by'pointsl; I9, into mounds or dam'siz` 221` on each side of.` eachf of saidtfurrows. Figi. 4:- shows: the nature of thez three furrows thus formed byi the* plowshares` and Sit will? be se-en that they'araof suitable depth: tol accommodate water for'irr'gationpurposes.

The means' B; comprisessahingerodfi extend# ing` transversely` between` the frame side members IIJ, i a pair: of. arms' 24? extending fromY said rodzrearwardly beyond thelends I5` of theframe and each, also',u downwardly'ourved at 25;` a rearwardly-extending' downwardlyV curved membenfzvxed to` eachrarm 24v, a, transverselyarranged:scoop:` 21 `on theuend of each curved part 25; and-1a similar scoop 2s:k on the end off each member 26; The scoops carriedby each armi extendetransversely` tok span` between the central plowshare andi somewhat beyond the middle` of the outer `plmirsliiaires.

The arms 2l are ireeiypivoted i onf rod" 2"3l and the means 9 is provided for raising and lowering the arms, alternately, so the scoops thereon cut into the soil to scoop out cross channels between the furrows 2i. Said means 9 comprises a pulley 29 on axle Il, a larger pulley 3E) on a shaft 3| above and co-extensive with said axle, a belt 32 connecting the pulleys, and a cam 33 on shaft 3l and disposed to engage each arm 24. It will be seen that rotation of the aXle when the machine is drawn along the ground will impart rotation to cams 33. These latter are oppositely'phased so that they alternately lift the arms during movement of the machine. However, the period, when said arms are in their lower position as controlled by the cams, is relatively short and the scoops 2l and 28 will simply scoop out cross channels 313 and 371 as best seen in Fig. and form a mound 35 along the forward edge of each such channel.

The springs 3S that are shown may be omitted and may either be designed to counter-balance part of the weight of arms 24 or assist the cams 33 to lift said arms.

The scoops 28 are located forward of plowshares I8 and form cross channels 3l in advance of the furrows. The scoops Z'i are located rearward of said plowshares and form cross channels 35 after the furrows are formed. It will be evident then that as the latter channels are formed, the mound of earth 35, scooped out, fills in the furrows, as at 33 and interrupts the longitudinal continuity of said furrows.

In operation, the machine .is moved along the ground; the plowshares i8 form three parallel furrows 2i first one arm 24 moves down so its scoops 2?! and 28 dig cross channel 3ft and 31, respectively, to connect the center furrow with one side furrow; the scoop 2l, performing its operation behind the plowshares, builds up dams 38 across each of said furrows; then said arm 24 moves up and as the machine progresses forward, the other arm 2li moves down to dig channels 34 and 3l connecting the center furrow and the other side furrows in a similar manner. Thus, as the machine progresses, a ditch of serpentine form and resembling a Greek fret is formed. Water in said ditch flows in the direction shown by the arrows of Fig. 3 to give desired spread of water and retardation of the ow thereof.

It will be noted from the foregoing that a novel and expeditious method for forming an irrigation ditch of serpentine form is provided and that said method entails a continuous digging operation that is performed while the machine is moved continuously along the ground.

While I have illustrated and described what I now regard as the preferred embodiment of my invention, the construction is, of course, subject to modifications without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention. I, therefore, do not wish to restrict myself to the particular form of construction illustrated and described, but desire to avail myself of all modifications that may fall within the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A ditch digger comprising a wheel-mounted frame adapted to be vmoved along the ground, transversely spaced means for forming longitudinal furrows during movement of the frame, 4and means spanning between adjacent furrows for simultaneously forming cross channels connecting said adjacent furrows, one of the latter means being in advance of the means forming the furrows and the other being rearward therebetween adjacent furrows for simultaneously forming longitudinally spaced cross channels connecting said adjacent furrows, one of the scoops being in advance of the shares forming the furrows andV the other being rearward thereof,

whereby said rearward scoops means also fills in a dam of soil across each of the adjacent furrows to thereby interrupt the continuity of said adjacent furrows, and means driven by the wheels of said frame. for moving the scoopsfspanning between the central and one outer furrow into channel-scooping position alternately with the scoops spanning between the central and the other outer furrow wherebyv YSaid channels connecting the three furrows areV staggered.

3. A machine for digging `a ditch having the serpentine form of a Greek fret comprising at least three transversely spaced shares for forming spaced longitudinal furrows, a scoop forward of and extending between adjacent shares, a similar scoop rearward of said adjacent shares, and means to intermittently move said scoops to soil-scooping position for forming a pair of cross channels connecting adjacent furrows and simultaneously filling in the furrows between said cross channels.

4. A ditch digger comprising a towable'wheelmounted frame having three transversely spaced downwardly curved rear portions, a plowshare on each portion for digging a longitudinal furrow, cam means connected to be driven by the wheels during towing of the frame, a pivoted arm between each adjacent pair of said curved rear portions and associated Vwith said cam means for pivotal movement alternately with respect to each other, a soil scoop on each. arm forward of the plowsharesfor scooping out a transverse channel connecting adjacent furrows formed by the plowshares, and a second scoop on each arm rearward of the plowshares for simultaneously scooping out a second transverse channel also connecting said adjacent furrows and simultaneously llingin a dam across each of said adjacent furrows to interrupt the continuity thereof.

5. A ditch digger comprising a towable wheelmounted frame having threetransversely spaced downwardly curved rear portions, a plowshare on each portion for digging a longitudinal furrow, cam means connected to be drivenby the wheels during towing of the frame, a pivoted arm between each adjacent pair of said curved rear portions and associated with said cam means for pivotal movement alternately with respect to each other, a soil scoop on each arm forward of the plowshares for scooping out a transverse -channelconnecting adjacent furrows formed by the plowshares, and a second scoop on each arm rearward of the plowshares for simultaneously scooping out a second transverse channel also connecting said adjacent furrows and simultaneously filling in a dam across each of vsaid adjacent furrows to interrupt the continuity thereof, said plowshares and scoops, each depositing the soll removed thereby alongside the furrows and channels to form mounds that increase the waterholding capacity of said furrows and channels.

6. In a ditch digger, three transversely spaced shares for forming three longitudinal furrows, a movable member disposed between each adjacent pair of said three shares, means for alternately moving said members up and down with respect to the shares, and two scoops on each member and extending into transverse overlapping relation to the respective pairs of shares, one scoop on each member being forward of and the other rearward of said respective pairs of shares.

YERVANT LION.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,184,329 Dennis et a1 May 23, 1916 i 1,397,722 Chewning Nov. 22, 1921 1,503,626 Belsley Aug. 5 1924 1,507,218 Trapnell Sept. 2, 1924 y2,118,462 Doonan May 24, 1938 

